Haraiva (PCs stay out) - Updated: The Lands of Death 9/27

Welcome to the Rogues Gallery for Haraiva in Darkness.
I'll be putting some of the baddies from the past, present and future here - plus sidebars that are not appropriate for the players to know about yet.
This is also where I'll be soliciting evil ideas from the community for my players to enjoy.

Thus - Haraiva players stay out!


I'll largely be picking up where they are now. As of August 2003, that means that the heroes are at ECL9. Racial or Template levels are given parenthetically.

PCs:
Arlissa Llassa - Cleric8/Soul of Light1
Daphna Llassa - Rogue2/Paladin6/Devoted Defender1
Berke of Luinlassa - Expert2/Wizard7
Karrinkas - (Karranas2)/Ranger4/Monk3
Balius - Ranger5/Bard4
Samus - (Chosen of Tarranus1)/Fighter6/Avenger of Tarranus2
Silk - Rogue8/Spymaster1

Cohorts:
Gary - Griffon5 - Balius' griffon buddy
Rinaltus - Fighter6/Cleric of Tarranus1 - Samus' cohort

I'm definitely going to have to get used to what is needed to challenge nine characters of level 7 thru 9...

Here's the first bit, from the Haraivan Ghost Story. Here's my GM notes of how I wanted it to go, so to speak...

...

That night, the denizens of the house awaken. The ghosts of five children appear, and begin to make noise in the front yard. Spied upon by the party, they innocently play. The three young girls play at jump-rope (a game the Harlizans invented to teach their sunborn dance and rhythm), while a teenaged sister watches. The two boys play intently at some game involving throwing stones at twigs.

Eventually, the elder sister will spot the watching characters. Her face turns sharp and angry, and she hisses (and uses her TK attack to yank a watcher out of the window/doorway and slam him into something hard). The other children stop playing. Initiative rolls for the players.
(Music: Art of Noise, Drum and Bass, track 8 - Kiss (Haitian Vampire Mix))

Teressa (girl, 14 years old). Teressa wears the torn remains of a pale blue nightdress. The front was ripped open from her neck to the bottom, and her ghostly body still bears a claw mark that starts at her right collarbone and ends in a bloody mess of her right breast. There are also claw marks at her ankles where her attackers held her while she was raped. Rest: She will demand that the body of the gnoll who raped her is brought to her, and can describe his red mane and twin-skull helm. It is possible that she might be convinced that she can rest without seeing his body, if she is assured that he is dead. Note that unlike the other children, Teressa has already given in to evil impulses.

Female Human Ghost: CR 3; Size M; AL NE;
HD 1d12; hp 10; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd fly 30 ft. (Perfect);
AC 18 (+5 Deflection, +3 Dex); Attack +3/d4 touch;
SV Ref +3, Fort N/A, Will +2;
Str 9 (-1), Dex 16 (+3), Con --, Int 13 (+1), Wis 15 (+2), Cha 20 (+5)

Skills, Feats:
Manifestation (Su), Malevolence(Su, Magic Jar as Sor10, Will: DC19, 10hrs), Telekinesis (Su, Telekinesis as Sor12, Will: DC14), Corrupting Touch (Su, Incorporeal Attack +3/d4)

Other girls/boys Teressa leads:
Arnus (boy, 8 yrs) hp 6; Size S; AC14; Init+0; Attack +0/d4
Tabitha (girl, 8 yrs) hp 5; Size S; AC15; Init+1, Attack +1/d4
Daphna (girl, 6 yrs) hp 4; Size S; AC14; Init+2, Attack +2/d4
Filla (girl, 6 yrs) hp 6; Size S; AC15; Init+1, Attack +1/d4

(from the gnoll slavers - players were ECL6 or so at the time)

Yennhi, Gnoll, Chaotic Evil
Classes: Gnoll:2 HD Cleric: 3 Ranger: 2 (diety: Yeenoghu)
AC 17 Flat 15 Tch 12
Hit Points: 42
Fort +9 Rfx +4 Will +5
Str 19 Dex 15 Con 10 Int 10 Wis 15 Chr 10
+4 +2 0 0 +2 0
Morningstar (Mstrwrk) d8+4 8
Whip (Mstrwrk) d2 Subdual --/8

Feats: Power Attack, Exotic Weapon: Whip, Weapon Focus: Whip, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus: Morningstar, Rebuke Undead, Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy, Armor: Shield Use, Weapons: Simple, Martial, Favored Enemy: Gnolls, Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, Track, Pain Touch (TchAtt -2 Str,Dex)

Spells
0Level: Resistance, Light, Detect Poison, Detect Magic,
1Level: Entropic Shield (20% miss), Doom (-2 Att, Dmg, SVs), Prot. From Good (+2 AC, SVs), Magic Weapon (+1,+1)
2Level Spiritual Weapon, Death Knell, Endurance

Skills: Balance -2, Concentration 5, Escape Artist -2, Heal 3, Hide -2, Listen 6, Move Silently -1, Ride 2, Sense Motive 2, Spot 8, Swim -1, Use Rope 2, Wilderness Lore 2, Knowledge (Religion) 3

Whip of Pain - Fortitude Test (DC20) or pain causes 1 pt temporary dex loss (in additional to the normal d2 subdual)

Now to catch up to their current ECL9 state...

Last episode they were ambushed by this minotaur archer, plus four "book" minotaurs.

G'nyasz, male minotaur Rgr3/Bbn3: CR 10;
Size L (6 ft., 10 in. tall); HD 12; hp 77;
Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd 50 ft.
AC 21 (+2 Dex, -1 Size, +5 Natural,+5 Armor)
BAB / Grapple: +12 / +17
SV Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +8; AL CE
Str 21, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 6.
Languages Spoken: Common, Giant, Orc.
Skills:
Hide +5, Move Silently +9, Listen +12, Spot +17, Search +11, Survival +6, Knowledge (nature) +4, Climb +10, Jump +11
Feats: Scent, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, [Track], [Endurance], [Two-Weapon Fighting], Weapon Focus (bow), Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Far Shot
Favored Enemy (humans) +2 to damage, +2 to some skills
Melee (human target)
Greataxe +15/+10/+5, 1d12+7, 20/x3
Battleaxe +15, 1d8+4, 20/x3
Ranged (human target)
Bow +15/+10/+5, 2d6+12, 19-20/x3
range increment 185ft, potential rapid shot

Possessions:
Masterwork Greataxe
Masterwork Battleaxe
+1 Keen Large Composite Bow (Mighty +7)
60 arrows in magic quiver
Blacksteel chainmail (AC+5)
Occular of Sight (removes up to -20 of distance penalty on spot checks)
Masterwork climbing gear
Necklace of human vertebrae
Potion of Cure Serious (3d8+5) x2
Potion of Flying
Ring of Featherfall
Shod shoes of Landstriding

He put a pretty good scare into them by slamming them with deadly arrows from hiding over 300" away. Once they closed, they took him down pretty good.

GM Do'h: I forgot that he should have raged once they closed into combat. Didn't help that he got two natural '1's in a row on the Greataxe, which I ruled meant that he had buried it in a nearby tree...

Coming up soon, and what I'd like ideas for: the players are escorting a caravan uphill where the rest of this fellows buddies (including a half-fiend minotaur cleric) will be intercepting them. I'd like ideas on the terrain, and how in general to challenge 7 PCs, 2 cohorts, and 30+ low level NPCs - without going insane.

I'm thinking that summoned creatures might help, plus some low-level-ish baddies (like more "book" minotaurs) whose combat with the NPCs can be somewhat handwaved yet be challenging.

john

Haraivan Minotaurs

You'll be seeing more minotaurs in the direction that the PCs are heading. Minotaurs are chaotic offspring of the great changes that have happened, and there are some that are more human than others - and some more bestial. Here's the mechanics breakdown I'm using:

(from Savage Species extract)
All:
Darkvision 60"
Favored Class: Minotaur
Class Skills: Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Search (Int), and Spot (Wis).

Mannish Minotaurs (Minotaur2, CR1)
HD 2d8
BAB +2
+4 Str, +2 Dex, -4 Int, -2 Cha
Medium Size
Speed 30"
Skills (2 + Int mod) x5
Gore 1d4, Charge 2d6
+2 natural armor
+1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot
Natural cunning (cannot become lost)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3
1 Feat
Language: Giant

Beastial Minotaurs (Minotaur6, CR3)
HD 4d8
BAB +4
+10 Str, +0 Dex, +4 Con, -4 Int, -2 Cha
Large Size
Speed 30"
Skills (2 + Int mod) x7
Gore 1d6, Charge 2d8
+4 natural armor
+3 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot
Natural cunning (cannot become lost)
Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +4
2 Feat, Track feat, Scent, Uncanny Dodge
Language: Giant

Minotaur level 7 (CR+0.5)
HD +1d8
BAB +1
Skills 2+Int
Natural Armor rises to +5
Improved Uncanny Dodge
Gore 1d8, Charge 4d6

Minotaur level 8 (CR+0.5)
HD +1d8
BAB +1
Skills 2+Int
Racial bonuses rise to +4
+1 to all SVs
Feat

With maybe the Feral template added on the top sometimes...

Sidebar: The Lands of Death

The Grey Lands

This is a Realm that is the opposite of Tala's knowledge and of Llassa's light, veiled in dulling shadows where dead spirits trod forgetting their past. Here the dead and the norm and strangers who find the world hostile to the living.

Planar Traits (to be reviewed against MoP)
Mildly Evil Aligned - Good creatures get -2 on Charisma checks with the natives
Darkness Aligned - Casting Light and Healing spells require a Concentration DC15 + Spell Level check.
Pervasive Undeath - Turning Attempts are at -4

Thanic Storms
The normally still gray skies of the Grey Lands can gather great black thunderstorms. Charged with negative energy, these roll across the landscape. Undead air spirits often dance on their edges. The wind that they whip before them is decidedly discomforting to living creatures. Undead in these zones feel stronger and revitalized, and will flock to them.

In the shadow of the storm itself, undead gain Fast Healing 1. Perhaps a festering or wounding effect on the living?

Returning the Dead: or What does a Raise Dead actually do?
It is possible to recover the dead, particularly the recently dead, from the Grey Lands. The various spells that return the dead allow the soul to be conjured back to the land of the living. This has the expensive requirement of bribing agents in that realm with something of great value - traditionally diamonds.

More powerful forces can be called upon by more powerful conjurers with more valuable offerings. These more powerful incantations allow for the retrieving agents to work with less information, or for the more distantly dead. In all of these cases, there is the potential that the desired soul is not available. It may have been consumed by the creatures of that realm, have translated into celestial or infernal domains, or more sadly: dissolved through sorrow, pain, or forgetfulness.

Alternatives to Raise Dead
This opens a potential new means to return the dead to the world of the living. Rather than contracting with an agent through conjuration, a sufficiently powerful and brave individual could travel directly to the Grey Lands herself. If the desired soul can be found before other forces get to it, then it could be translated back to the Prime and restored to its body.


These are still draft thoughts, crystalized by a substantial round of death amongst my PCs. I am very interested in other peoples thoughts on this, particularly what loopholes and implications they might raise. I do not own any of the recent publications concerning death (ex: Ghostwalk or Purgatorium) which might have touched on these ideas.

john